debian-de...@liska.ath.cx (Оlе Ѕtrеісhеr) writes: > However, the web page states that > > | The official name, ESO-MIDAS, is a registered trademark > > Searching for more details, I found out that the trademark is cancelled > since 1999 [2]. > > Can I now just take eso-midas as package name?
I'm not familiar with trademark law in the various jurisdictions where it applies. Isn't it the case, though, that trademark doesn't restrict using a trademark to refer to the product to which the mark is registered? I would think that the name of a Debian package is clearly a reference to the product, and if that's not restricted under trademark law in the various jurisdictions where trademark applies, then it seems to me that you don't need further explicit permission to name the package so it accurately names the product. I can think of <URL:http://bugs.debian.org/354622> a prominent counter-example: Mozilla Corporation invoked their trademark monopoly on the name “Firefox” and (later) other Mozilla products to forbid the Debian packages using those names. They asserted that the modifications in the Debian package of Firefox – such as bug fixes, patches for improvements, and even security bug fixes – constitute a different product from that which the trademark is registered. <URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Corporation_software_rebranded_by_the_Debian_project#Trademark_agreement_revocation> I don't know whether the holder of the monopoly on the “ESO-MIDAS” name would have the same position. -- \ “If you do not trust the source do not use this program.” | `\ —Microsoft Vista security dialogue | _o__) | Ben Finney -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-legal-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/85lhwwnpzo....@benfinney.id.au
